Saturday, February 9, 2013

REVIEW: No More Heroes #4

No More
Heroes #4 (self-published, 2012) ***½

Writer: Gordon
McLean/Artist: Caio Oliveira

This
self-published four-part series from England was excellent value (only $1.60
per PDF download) and I really enjoyed the first three chapters, especially
Caio’s Gary Chaloner/Kevin Maguire-style art. Basically, a random guy called
Sid receives a mobile phone message asking if the caller should kill himself.
Thinking it a joke – and urged on by his drunken mates – Sid texts back, “Yes.”
When he later finds out the call came from superhero Dark Justice , who’s just
been found dead, he’s filled with remorse. Especially when Dark Justice’s
sidekick Black Fury turns up seeking answers. Meanwhile, deranged mass murderer
Jack Slaughter is killing a bunch of people. This is the case that sent Dark
Justice into deep depression in the first place. At the end of part three,
Black Fury had finally captured Jack Slaughter and we were waiting for the big
reveal of his secret identity. Well, the last chapter was, frankly, a bit of a
letdown. I know Gordon wanted to have a swerve in that Jack Slaughter turns out
to be some nobody not connected with any of the main characters. The gender
swerve is good, but the fact that she’s just some random really deflates the
storyline. While there are some good tense moments during the issue – including
a flashback to Dark Justice’s final moments – I felt a little empty at the end
of it. Still, I suspect this isn’t the last we see of Black Fury and Jim, who’s
now wearing the hood of Dark Justice. Will there be another series of No More Heroes? I hope so. I think
Gordon and Caio show a lot of promise – despite my misgivings about the
conclusion, I really did enjoy the miniseries. I urge superhero fans to seek it
out at nomoreheroescomic.wordpress.com or “No More Heroes Comic” on Facebook.